You don't need too many hours without central heating to drive home the fact that you live in a cold country. It is my own fault because the Gas Man has been shaking his head at our old(27 years) central heating boiler for about five years now saying you really need a new boiler. However as you may have guessed it lasted another few years until January, the coldest January in living memory almost. What actually happened was the smoke alarm started chirping just before the family arrived for Saturday diner.I duly changed the battery but the chirp persisted? it was the carbon monoxide detector PANIC. Call the emergency number.Its a silent odourless killer so there was not a moment to lose.We will get someone to you within the hour the lady said ignoring my attempt to explain the noise was intermittent.
Any way the guy came said the detector was faulty and would be replaced under warranty but he should check out the boiler anyway for our safety. That done he shut it down disconnected the gas supply and said there all is save now. Very cold but very safe. Now to be honest I would have went down the "live a little dangerously but be cosy " route but with the family gathered around risk was not my business.
Cut a long story short after getting a few quotes and checking a few prices on the INTER-WEB we found a local guy who seemed totally professional and had all the accreditation and certs so, we went with him. He repaired the old boiler specified the new set up and did it all in a day for around a third of the cost the national gas company wanted. The guy was so pleasant and helpful even replacing and upgrading parts of the system he hadn't quoted for but insisted it was required so, he did it. It was a big lesson for me that we ignore the local trades people to our cost.We have all been drawn into the" big is best" lie where you believe the big guys do it better and cheaper because that's how they got big in the first place. The real lesson of course is to shop around no matter what you are buying and always call the local guy,he could be your best bet.
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